SMART vocational training centre at Gajuwaka

VISAKHAPATNAM:, JUNE 19, 2016 00:00 IST

With over 400 students getting training at the SMART Vocational Training Centre set up by the Bhagavatula Charitable Trust in association with the Tech Mahindra Foundation, a second such centre, was set up at the industrial hub Gajuwaka. The second centre of the BCT in association with TMF in the city was inaugurated by Tech Mahindra Chief Executive Officer C.P. Gurnani on Friday. This is the 75th vocational centre by the TMF in the country and the fourth in the city. One each centre is operating at the Government ITI and IGIAT.

In the picture, Chief Executive Officer Tech Mahindra C.P. Gurnani interacting with former students of TechMahindra Foundation’s SMART Vocational Training Centre after the inauguration of a vocational training centre in Gajuwaka. —Photo: By Special Arangement

The BCT has been able to achieve 75 per cent placement for the students who underwent training at its centres, BCT secretary B Sriram Murthy told The Hindu. These vocational centres offer training in computer fundamentals and English speaking and a special course called Workplace Readiness. From this year the two centres of the BCT would offer courses in ITES and in Customer Relation Services, he added.

With the retail trade growing in the city and the region and more BPOs opening the employment opportunities for students trained in ITES and CRS is set to grow, Mr Sriram said. A large number of students doing their degree in the city are from the suburbs and the peripheral villages therefore need the help of such training centres to become employable.

So far more than 25,000 unemployed youths have benefited from the SMART programme, Tech Mahindra Location Head K Ravi Chandra said in a statement issued here. After inaugurating the centre Mr. Gurnani interacted with the students of previous batches trained at the other centres in the city and who are currently working with employers like HDFC, Karur Vysya Bank, Concentrix (IBM Daksh), Pfizer, Idea Cellular and Bharath Mela.com, among others.